Our products benefit our customers and society in many ways, but they must be managed in a safe and secure manner. We take these product stewardship responsibilities very seriously, and consider the environment, health and safety through the life cycle of our products.
Our Product Stewardship Policy
To ensure that EH&S considerations are an integral part of the life cycle of products, including their development, design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, use, recycle and final disposal by:
- identifying and evaluating any significant EH&S effects for each product or family of products and for each stage of the product life cycle
- characterizing and reviewing the risks associated with all products or product families
- establishing practices to minimize the potential risks associated with products
- communicating the hazards associated with our products and their proper handling, recycling, use and disposal to employees, customers, distributors and contract manufacturers
- including EH&S criteria when selecting suppliers
REACH and Global Product Regulations
Air Products continues to focus on meeting the requirements of the EU Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. In 2010, we completed the registration of several substances in our products after successful pre-registration two years earlier. We plan to complete the registration of substances in accordance with the schedule provided by the legislation, with the majority of our substances being registered in 2013 or 2018. Also, as part of our REACH efforts, we have identified and communicated the downstream uses of our products, and classified chemical substances according to the new European Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation, referred to as CLP.
In a small number of cases, in order to eliminate risk to our customers, Air Products has withdrawn products from the market containing substances which have recently been subject to Authorization.
REACH is beginning to have global impact as governments around the world consider the adoption of similar chemical control regulations. We continue to track these developments and evaluate the potential impacts they could have on our businesses and customers.
GHS
The Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of chemicals provides a common approach for defining and classifying chemical hazards and communicating safety information on labels and safety data sheets. In 2010, Air Products converted our gases, electronics, and pure chemical products to the GHS scheme in the EU, Singapore and Brazil, adding to earlier conversions in Korea, Japan and Taiwan. GHS will be applied to chemical mixtures in these regions based on the applicable regulatory deadlines. We continue to prepare for GHS in China, Canada and the U.S.
Product Stewardship Summaries
As part of our commitment to Responsible Care®, we have developed Product Stewardship Summaries that provide an overview of our products and how they are used, along with important health, safety and environmental information. More detailed safety and health information is available on our Safety Data Sheets.
View Product Summaries
Product Safety Training
Air Products offers safety training to our customers. The training topics vary from general compressed gases safety to product specific safety. This training can be arranged by contacting your sales representative. If you are not sure who your sales representative is, call our Customer Service Organization at 800-224-2724, and they will be glad to help you contact your representative.
Emergency Response System
For assistance involving Air Products' gases and equipment, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
800-523-9374 (Continental U.S. and Puerto Rico)
610-481-7711 (Other locations)